Week 2 Football Scouting Reports

A capsule look at Week 2 football games involving teams from the Beaver County Times' coverage area:  

2A MIDWESTERN CONFERENCE

Freedom at Riverside

7 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium    

Both teams want to rebound from Week 1 conference losses: Freedom lost to New Brighton, 24-6; Riverside lost to Beaver Falls 47-14 ... The Bulldogs have a new coach. After Greg Toney resigned on Monday, athletic director John Rosa stepped in as interim coach ... Last year at Memorial Stadium, Freedom edged Riverside in a high-scoring 31-30 thriller.

Ellwood City at New Brighton

7 p.m. Friday, Oak Hill Field

Unfortunately for Ellwood City, it started 2020 right where it left off last year when it went 0-10 and didn't score in six games. Last week, the Wolverines lost 45-0 to Mohawk ... New Brighton's defense didn't allow any points in its 24-6 win over Freedom. The Bulldogs' lone score came on a Damian Grunnagle's 10-yard return of a fumble recovery ... Last year, New Brighton beat Ellwood City, 38-0.  

Laurel at Beaver Falls

7 p.m. Friday, Reeves Field, Geneva College 

Laurel started the season with a 14-7 win over Neshannock, the 2019 Midwestern champ. This week, the Spartans take on highly-regarded Beaver Falls ... The Tigers rolled to 47-14 win over Riverside last week as running backs Josh Hough and Shileak Livingston combined for 255 yards on just 19 carries. That's an average of 13.4 yards per carry ... Beaver Falls last played Laurel in 2015 and won 42-7. The Tigers lead the series against the Spartans, 9-1.  

2A THREE RIVERS CONFERENCE

Carlynton at South Side

7 p.m. Friday, Richard J. Ashcroft Athletic Complex  

No doubt coach Luke Travelpiece preached ball security at practice this week. Last week, South Side led Western Beaver 9-7 midway in the fourth quarter and was driving deep into Golden Beavers' territory. But the Rams lost a fumble that Western Beaver returned 76 yards for the game-winning TD ... Running back Parker Statler sparked the Rams by rushing for 148 yards, including 56 on a TD run ... This will be Carlynton's season-opener. The Cougars won last week without playing. They got a 2-0 forfeit win over Sto-Rox. With a few players academically ineligible, the Vikings didn't have enough players to field a team ... Last year, South Side beat Carlynton, 50-13.

1A BIG SEVEN CONFERENCE

Burgettstown at Our Lady of Sacred Heart 

7 p.m. Friday, William "Rip" Scherer Field at Tiger Stadium

OLSH, which fielded a football team for the first time in 2010, has never played Burgettstown before ... The Chargers are coming off a 34-26 win over Cornell in which they unveiled a new two quarterback system. Jaymar Pearson, a dual-threat junior who was last year's starter, scored OLSH's first two TDs on short runs of 5 and 3 yards. But it was sophomore Nehemiah Azeem who led the Chargers' air attack by completing 15 of 25 throws for 168 yards ... OLSH running back Steven Greer added 189 rushing yards ... Burgettstown, which dropped from Class 2A to 1A, went 9-1 and 10-1 the last two seasons. The Blue Devils' only losses during that span came in the playoffs, 42-35 to Riverside last year and 7-6 to Freedom in 2018.

Union at Rochester 

7 p.m. Friday, Rochester High School Stadium  

Rochester had no trouble racking up a 47-6 Week 1 win over Northgate, which has now lost 26 straight games dating back to the middle of the 2017 season. This week, the Rams face a much tougher challenge against Union (0-1). The Scotties, who lost last week to Shenango, 25-12, are led by two-way lineman Aaron Gunn, a 6-foot-3, 308-pound Louisville recruit ... In the win over Northgate, Rochester running back Denny Robinson rushed for 177 yards and three TDs ... Last year, Union beat Rochester, 47-14.

Cornell at Northgate

7 p.m. Friday, Alumni Field, Bellvue

After losing to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart last week, Cornell should get its first victory of the season against a struggling Northgate program that's lost its last 26 games ... Last year, Cornell beat Northgate, 57-14 ...  In the loss to OLSH, Raiders running back Amere Hibbler rushed for 152 yards, including a 98-yard TD run.

NON-CONFERENCE

Ambridge at Aliquippa

7 p.m. Friday, Carl Aschman Stadium

Quips vs. Bridgers used to be one of Beaver County's most fierce rivalries. After first playing in 1920, they played every year from 1924 through 1979 and every year from 1982 through 2009. However, this is the first meeting between the cross-river rivals since Aliquippa won 44-13 in 2013 ... Aliquippa leads the all-time series 50-34-5 ... Ambridge, coming off an 0-10 season, lost last week to Keystone Oaks, 49-7, in the Class 3A Northwestern Six Conference ... Aliquippa opened the 2020 season with an impressive 44-28 win over New Castle in the 4A Parkway Conference. Running back Vernon Redd led the Quips with 220 rushing yards.

Blackhawk at Central Valley

7 p.m. Friday, Sarge Alberts Stadium

Blackhawk opened the season with a solid 22-7 win over Beaver in 4A Parkway Conference play. In that game, kicker Jordan Patterson booted field goals of 33, 31 and 27 yards ... Central Valley opened with a 51-2 rout of Hopewell in the 3A Northwestern Six. In that game, CV's Myles Walker, an Akron recruit, scored on punt returns of 64 and 66 yards, while teammate Stephon Hall, a Pitt recruit, returned a kickoff 83 yards for a TD ... Since the Center/Monaca merger in 2010, Central Valley has dominated its series against Blackhawk, going 6-0 when they were rivals in the Parkway Conference and 1-1 in non-conference play the past two years. The Warriors won last year, 32-15. 

Hopewell at Montour

7 p.m. Friday, Thomas J.  Birko Memorial Stadium

After going ahead 2-0 last week against Central Valley on a safety, nothing went right for Hopewell. In its Class 3A Northwestern Six opener, it allowed three long special teams touchdowns. Its offense couldn't score and three quarterbacks completed just 4 of 27 passes for just 23 yards ... Montour, a member of the 4A Parkway Conference, struggled in its season opener, too. The Spartans lost to Chartiers Valley, 34-7 ... Last year, Montour (5-6) made the playoffs but lost its first-round game to eventual 4A champ Thomas Jefferson.      

Moon at North Hills

7 p.m. Friday at Martorelli Stadium

Both teams are coming off impressive Week 1 wins. In the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference, Moon beat West Allegheny, 28-14. In the Class 5A Northeast, North Hills routed Shaler, 35-7 ... The play of the game in Moon's win over West A. was a kickoff return by Andrew Sampson, a 5-8, 225-pound lineman. After it scored in the third quarter, West Allegheny tried an onsides kick. On that onsides try, not only did Sampson latch on to the football, but he ran with it untouched for a 63-yard TD.

Brentwood at Quaker Valley

7 p.m. Friday, Chuck Knox Stadium

Last week, Quaker Valley found out that Avonworth, the 2019 WPIAL Class 2A champ, has what it takes to compete in Class 3A. The Quakers lost to the Antelopes, 35-0, in their Northwestern Six opener ... Against the 'Lopes, QV could only muster 106 yards of offense (64 rushing, 42 passing) ... Last week in the 2A Three Rivers Conference, Brentwood beat Seton LaSalle, 33-21. In that game, running back Aiden Wardzinski carried 36 times for 263 yards and four TDs ... Since it opened in 1956, Quaker Valley has only played Brentwood four times: 1957 and '58, and 2000 and '01. QV leads the series 3-1.

West Allegheny at Shaler

1 p.m. Saturday, Shaler High School Stadium  

Both teams are coming off Week 1 losses: West Allegheny lost to Moon, 28-14; Shaler lost to North Hills, 35-7 ... Counting yards lost on sacks, West Allegheny only rushed for 6 yards against Moon and only scored one offensive touchdown. Quarterback Gavin Miller, an Auburn baseball recruit, completed 12 of 26 passes but had minus-30 rushing yards, most coming on times he was sacked ... It's believed that Shaler and West Allegheny have only played once before. That was in the 2018 5A playoffs when West A. blanked the Titans in a first-round game, 37-0. 

Western Beaver at Beaver

7 p.m. Saturday, Pat Tarquinio Stadium

Never before has Beaver played Western Beaver in football ... The Bobcats are coming off a 22-7 loss to Blackhawk in Class 4A Parkway Conference play. In that game, they committed six turnovers (four interceptions, two lost fumbles) ... In its Class 2A Midwestern Conference opener, Western Beaver rallied for a 15-9 win at South Side when lineman Daquan Bradford scored on a 76-yard fumble recovery midway in the fourth quarter ... The Golden Beavers only passed for 5 yards at South Side but rushed for 256. Running back Thad Gray accounted for 118 of them.